It’s been a minute since DaveCromwellWrites covered a live show (well, last November to be precise). While all too true that the recent focus has been predominantly on recorded works (not always the case as densely covered live event were a common occurrence on this site, not that long ago), this current feature celebrates a dazzling, multi-performance show. Also included are two distinct interviews (something else that was once as staple here) along with some studio recording reviews as well. It all adds up to yet-another thoughtful and detailed probe into this thing we call “rock music.”
When it was announced that Live Nation was putting on an “Eighties Goth Prom” at House Of Blues in Orlando Florida earlier this month on May 3, the opportunity to catch this event was there for the taking. Headlined by world renowned Depeche Mode tribute band Strangelove, the lineup also included The Cure tribute Lovesong, Not Nine Inch Nails tribute to NIN and The Electric Duke tribute to David Bowie. Having established a prior working relationship with the multi-skilled Julian Shah-Tayler via his solo work, the occasion to see him do his Bowie show and as an essential member of Stranglove was too good to miss. In addition to the performance, an interview was arranged with Julian and all the members of Strangelove. That full discussion follows below, along with a review of their recently released album “Rendition.”
Based out of Los Angeles, STRANGELOVE-The Depeche Mode Experience is a dazzling concert event. Bringing to life the very best DM songs, they draw from the artists 40 plus year career with accuracy and authenticity. Under the guidance of Brent Meyer (a/k/a “Counterfeit Martin”) his portrayal of DM mastermind Martin L. Gore on stage is a joy to behold. Frontman and vocalist Leo Luganskiy (a/k/a “Ultra-Dave”) is both a visual and vocal dead ringer for the charismatic Dave Gahan. Julian Shah-Tayler (a/k/a “Oscar Wilder”) is no stranger to this site, having reviewed a number of his albums here previously. James Evans (a/k/a "In The Fletch") is the bands Andy Fletcher in every similar way possible. Chris Olivas (a/k/a "Chris-tian O-gner") is the quintessential drummer every band would love to have.
The Golden Ticket
Necessary item for a smooth experience
Sitting down with the band an hour or so before they were to perform on this Saturday evening, the Q + A flowed in a professional yet-casual fun filled exchange.
DCW: Getting right to the heart of the matter, where do you see your place in this huge rock and roll music landscape?
Brent Meyer: The Question is do we have any back story beyond being a tribute band entity, because everyone views us in that light – in the context of coming to these shows. I started this project 18 years ago, and some people who’ve followed me from those early days only see me in this context are surprised to discover I do other things.
DCW: It’s the “onion” concept where there is more to an individual than just what you see on the surface.
Julian: And much more to make you cry (laughter all around).
DCW: Leo, what else do you do when not at this? Do you have a solo project?
Leo: Yes, I do my solo work and also a couple of side projects. Something I’ve been pursuing over a decade. Coming from a teenage dream to be the next alternative metal artist. Combining the elements of songwriting and being inspired by bands like Deftones, Korn and an archetypal teenage angst. Other influences are more sophisticated such as the Swedish progressive metal band Katatonia. Focusing on a heavier writing style with the music, but the vocals are very song oriented. As an artist you kind of want it all. To be equally appealing to the common show business factors, but you want it to be beautiful to anybody. It doesn’t matter if it’s techno, synthpop, rock or metal, sometimes you get lucky and discover a band that makes you overlook anything you ever thought you might like. When I was growing up I was in to more electronic music, which is completely opposite to something that is post-punk or heavy music. Then I discovered the band Placebo and it changed how I think of any of that. It was so completely out-of-the-box and it was the right time to discover it. They’re all stylistically different but there is a mood that you feel. For me, it’s the mood and the atmosphere that the band is bringing that matters more than what style it is. So when you are creating something of your own, you end up taking bits and pieces from all of that, while still trying to be tasteful if you can.
DCW: It’s been well-documented that keyboardist Alan Wilder left Depeche Mode due to the lack of credit he was given for all the work he did in the band. Would you agree with that assessment?
Brent: Absolutely. He was basically uncredited at least as co-producer on every album he was involved in. The quintessential Mode albums that defined their sound for most fans.
DCW: When I listen to his solo project Recoil, I hear so many of those distinct audio qualities.
Brent: The sound had all the Depeche Mode signatures, but it moved away from a pop sensibility, that melodic songwriting core, it was more about the atmospherics and sonic landscape. He chose to explore that, and who knows what Alan’s songwriting capabilities might have been in the band, given the chance.
DCW: James, your role as “Fletcher” in the band has playing keyboards and singing back-up vocals. Which do you feel more accomplished at.
James: I think I sing better than play keys. My vocals keep me going while I’m playing one handed Fletch lines. The ironic part was that he had more keyboards set up than any of the other guys, while playing fewer lines.
DCW: I saw Depeche Mode play Giants Stadium in New Jersey back in 1990 with the Jesus and March Chain as support. That was an incredible show, and I believe it was right when Martin started playing guitar with the band.
Brent: It was pretty much right then, that tour and the one before, the “Music For The Masses” one.
Leo: Arguably that might never have happened if “Black Celebration” and “Music For The Masses” didn’t lead up to what they did there. You can hear that stuff in songs like “Behind The Wheel.” If you reverse engineer some of their songs – their callbacks – and what they ended up doing in the future – the melody of “Pleasure Little Treasure” is basically “Personal Jesus” in a way. It’s re-conceptualized with an entirely different impact.
DCW: Do you think that’s intentional, or just a natural occurrence?
Leo: It’s both. Coming from their integrity and style and some of humor about it. Sometimes they’re really mopey and dark, and sometimes they’re really ironic. There’s beauty in that, and keeps you kind of wondering.
DCW: Have you ever met any of the DM band members?
Brent: Yes, absolutely. Martin is a big supporter.
DCW: He likes you?
Brent: He’s spoken very favorably about us in press and print. In a fairly recent press junket in New York Dave was kind of ‘taking the piss’ about how much time he spent watching our videos online.
Julian: Leo and I both worked indirectly with Ava, who is Martin’s daughter.
Brent: I have as well.
DCW: That’s cool. I caught a show by Dave Gahan’s daughter Stella Rose way downtown in NYC a year or so back.
Leo: I’ve seen some of her shows and met her briefly.
Brent: We’ve seen her in tiny clubs.
DCW: And she knows what you do?
Leo: She doesn’t exactly what I do, because it was more of an accidental meeting after one of her shows at Pianos. She’s more involved with her peers and the new generation of younger musicians that might not know about all the older stuff.
DCW: Some do, some don’t. I was always curious about what came before I was alive. There was a period of immersion into 1940’s and 50’s jazz, inspired by Kerouac’s “On The Road.”
Julian: Brent’s degree is Ethnomusicology. He’s the nerdy center of all this.
Brent: We’re both kind of the conservatory of things, with Julian and his Classical Music background.
Julian: We’ve occasionally done shows with a U2 band and they’ll bust out the Passengers song “Miss Sarajevo” and when Brent does the Pavarotti opera solo there is not a dry pair of knickers in the house! (Much laughter all around).
DCW: At one time you were training to be an opera singer?
Brent: I never had any illusion that would be something I could make a living at, but I did want to pursue the training that afforded and follow the through line in terms of symphonic composition. It benefits in terms of arrangement, even though it’s all midi and electronics, it still all directly affects this. Alan Wilder, very much a classically trained musician himself, even stuck little sampled bits into the recordings. The chords that start “Never Let Me Down Again” references Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.” There’s also Wagner samples, there’s Mozart Requiem, there’s all kinds of little easter eggs that he’s placed there in Depeche’s music. In fact they had a b-side of him playing Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” straight up on piano, and I think that’s pretty cool.
Julian speaks to the audience
DCW: Let’s talk about your Strangelove recordings, specifically the “Rendition” album. Were you all in the same room when you recorded this?
Brent: Never! (laughter) Our original track and the Depeche songs were all done separately. The only one’s that had any of us physically together were when Julian and I did a live stream of all Martin songs and a couple of those are on the album.
Julian: “Sublime” is the song that Leo and I wrote. I had sent him a couple of tracks and he came up with something fabulous, vocally. We then threw it back and forth continuing to develop it, and then everyone put their parts on.
Chris: That track wouldn’t have sounded as good if I hadn’t gotten my drums on it the way I wanted.
Leo: That’s true. The ideas and construction were because of the combination between a very modern drum sound and a very live one. That’s why in certain moments you notice we kept the drums “naked” – a dry and clean sound.
Chris: When I got the general track, there was no vocals on it. There was maybe only the verse part, and a few other tiny parts to it. I got the vibe though, and put down a John Bohnam-esque beat. A similar feel to what I play on DM’s “Useless” and “Never Let Me Down.” There was a point where I wish I would have added a little bit more later on and do things a little bit different, but overall it worked out well. Eventually they started to cut things up and Leo added his elements of new electronics stacked on top.
Leo: Right. For instance some of Chris’ drum samples are more like a room sound, while others are from places that were bigger. You always want to go back and forth with the blending. Even back to the demos, where you like the original consistency, and combine that other sounds to make something truly unique. You don’t want it to sound like anybody else, and that’s what takes more time. When it clicks with everyone, is no longer distracting and it’s working, that’s when we say “yeah, this is us.”
Julian: I have to give a lot of credit to Darwin Meiners who mixed what we sent him, which was a lot of stuff.
Brent: A herculean task.
Julian: He did such a good job with it and made it sound like we might even be in the same room together to record it.
Brent: Which was definitely not the case. He had to craft all that together.
DCW: “Sublime” is positioned as the album’s tenth entry (with two remixes of it after that). The primary version is a guitar-centric, buzzy ambiance affair with forward drive drumming in support of Leo’s heightened vocals. The “thoughts of loving you/hating you” express universal relationship turmoil. “Let me in - I will disappear with out a trace - when i get what i want” becomes the emotional center. While “The pleasure and the pain - cuts me right out” suggests a release of personal ego, when experiencing the “sublime” of immersing yourself in the one you love. Heavy, chugging guitar leads a bold sonic conclusion that includes soaring vocals and elevated percussive elements.
DCW: Leo, do you write a lot of songs?
Leo: I think it’s safe to say “yes.” It’s an ongoing process for all of us. I can’t really call myself a “musician” (at this point) because you kind of have to be more well-known, but definitely ideas are happening all the time. Ideas, concepts, side projects – until something really clicks with a lot of people – this is when you become an artist. This is where people start putting you in a category “oh he’s a rock artist or a goth artist.” I think of those labels as something like winning an award. You can’t really give it to yourself, it has to be assigned by other people.
Digging deeper into the bands "Rendition" album reveals a treasure trove of audio delights. It opens with a wonderful re-interpretation of “Useless,” this time with emphasis on Brent’s sharp guitar figures coupled with Leo’s surprisingly fluid bass playing. The expressive lead vocals and precise harmonies from Brent and James are of course there. Julian’s keys and Chris’ drums also deliver at the exact levels the song calls for.
Ultra’s “Sister Of Night” leans on keyboards and electronic percussion to support Leo’s passionate vocals (with Brent and Julian background vox). “In Your Room” is essentially a solo track from Julian Shah-Tayler. He plays everything on it and does all the vocals. Having reviewed a number of his albums outside of this band already, the familiarity is not only in the song, but it’s overall production.
“Insight” comes from those “live lounge session” Brent referred to, and features his expressive vocals and Julian’s piano and backing vocals. The ability to bring this song to life in an intimate live setting is most impressive. Fifth entry “Mercy In You” flips the script with a solo piano and vocal performance from Leo. The “Songs of Faith and Devotion” entry becomes even more poignant in this stripped down form. “A Question Of Lust” comes by way of Julian back in his studio, building a solo version of this classic with all the tools and talents at his disposal.
Dipping back into their “live lounge sessions” Brent and Julian serve up an electric piano and synth extravaganza with the recent (2023) DM song “Soul With Me.” Brent’s powerful and expressive voice reflects the original’s beauty with resonance and reverence. Moving over to earlier era DM, 1985’s “Shake the Disease” features all the bandmembers (minus drums) with a stripped down entry. A near acapella version from all four vocalists, the minimal instrumental backing is all that seems necessary.
Final “rendition” is a solo vocal and piano entry of “I Am You” from Leo. Subtitled “Audition Version,” and given the short 1 minute in overall length, one wonders if this was an actual submission to gain entry into the band. Regardless, it’s beautifully done. The first “Sublime” remix comes by way of Julian Shah-Tayler’s recording studio laboratory. Extended in length, all the instruments from the original are stripped away and replaced by an array of synths and electronic percussion. Ambiance abounds with plenty of open spaces, allowing for Leo’s vocal track to stand out a bit more. Final entry is the second “Sublime” remix – dubbed the “Entre Nous Remix.” Stripped once again of all previous instrument, new keyboards and percussion tracks provide a bed for Leo’s lead vocals and the remainder of the bands backing voices. Both remixes are decidedly dance-floor ready.
Strangelove continues to tour throughout the summer and beyond. Check their Official Site for all the dates.
In addition to the Strangelove interview, a second one was conducted on this night with no-stranger-to-this-site solo artist Julian Shah-Tayler, shortly after his opening performance as The Electric Duke Bowie Tribute show. Numerous recorded works of his have already been reviewed here previously, and now the opportunity presented itself to interview the multi-faceted man in person.
DCW: Watching you play piano in your videos (outside of this band) you are very accomplished. Did you have classical piano training?
Julian: Yes, I was classically trained.
DCW: Yes, you also mentioned in a recent video interview that you were also on a path to be a doctor. At the same time as this, were you also getting piano lessons?
Julian: Strangely, my Grandmother was a music teacher, and she was very proud of my uncle who was a doctor. My mother is a lawyer, but she is also very musical. One year she won a Welsh music competition, and was very proud of that. So she would encourage me with music all the time. However, my family would have all liked me to be a doctor, but it just wasn’t my path.
DCW: When did you first start playing piano?
Julian: I was 5 years old. I loved playing instruments and doing musical things, but I didn’t particularly enjoy practicing.
DCW: Could you read the musical notation charts?
Julian: Yes, of course I read music.
DCW: At some point with the emergence with the 80’s synth sound and morphed over to playing these electronic keyboards?
Julian: I’m a little younger than that, so I didn’t really get into synthesizers until I joined this band here, Strangelove. Everything I did up till then was about recording studio work. Brent was previously describing how Alan Wilder would take pieces of orchestral works and include them. I did that as well, without any prior knowledge of what he was doing. I would take Beethoven or Stravinsky or Benjamin Britten and I would stretch my selections to make an orchestral sound for the stuff I did. I didn’t have any synths, only pianos so I would improvise in other ways. Like I would take the sound of a squeaking door, sample it and use that as a sort of keyboard sound.
DCW: At one time were you on a path to be a classical piano player?
Julian: I would have never been a classical concert pianist. I was, I wouldn’t say mediocre – I was good but not great. When you listen to Lang Lang you hear how spectacular and brilliant they are. I was always interested more in composing, and if you want to do that, you don’t become a classical pianist.
DCW: Early on you had the songwriter bug?
Julian: Yes. I wrote my first piano piece when I was nine years old, and my first song when I was 14. I needed to be self-expressive, that was very important to me.
DCW: When did you first make the move to the United States?
Julian: I came over with a band named Whitey, who I co-wrote a lot of stuff with. We had songs in “The Sopranos,” “Breaking Bad” and we did very well. We went on a tour with Peaches that was really good. So, that’s how I ended up in the USA.
DCW: You originally grew up in Leeds, UK?
Julian: I was born in Leeds, but didn’t grow up there. I went to boarding school in Durham, which was the basis for Hogwarts in the Harry Potter world. I then went to University in York and later moved to London when I was old enough to do the whole thing with music.
DCW: You’ve been a solo artist from your earliest days, but you also do these other projects.
Julian: I like collaborating with people, and especially with very talented writers. If something like Whitey comes along, it helps me learn. The same thing with Leo here in this band. Another I’ve worked with is Tiki Lewis who has really spectacular stuff. If I find people I like working with, that is a welcome diversion. However, it will never be my focus beyond what I do – it will be just another thing.
DCW: It sounds to me like you’ve gotten a number of songs in films, television shows and/or video games. Is that something you put out there to be found, or do you have people contacting you for specific projects?
Julian: Both – all of those things. Currently I’m working on a tv script based around my music. It’s my story, and is a written 13 episode arc. The pilot is fully written, and the next 12 episodes have synopses.
DCW: Do you have the people in place – the contacts, to bring this to life?
Julian: I had all that before the global shutdown of 2020. A couple of production companies were interested in making it. I currently have one production company who is now interested and I’m collaborating with over the next couple of months to bring it to fruition. We will make it happen because I’m fairly confident the person I’m working with has the means to do it.
It was truly a pleasure to finally meet Julian in person, as well as all the other wonderful musicians working on this night.
Also performing on this night was an amazingly accurate The Cure Tribute show by the mesmerizing band Lovesong.
This show was the closest thing to attending a Cure live show, without it being the actual band! Frontman Rusty has got his Robert Smith down in not only sound, but all the physical movements diehard Cure fans have come to know over decades. In fact, the whole band is a precise, well-honed machine that reproduced every song brilliantly.
Even before details were hashed out with contacts in Depeche Mode Tribute Strangelove, a spot at this event was secured via Lovesong’s “win a ticket to the show” contest running on social media leading up to the event.
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Even though ultimately not needed, the gesture was most certainly appreciated (and told them so in a brief chat after the show).
The unanimous consent among anyone who has experienced their show is they are the premier Cure live show out there (other than the actual Robert Smith and company).
Listen to this clip of "Just Like Heaven"
Who doesn't love the achingly beautiful "Pictures Of You"
Or the sheer uplifting joy of "Inbetween Days"
Perhaps it's time to go for "The Walk"
Or get lost in "A Forest"
Nothing captures the balance of doomy wonder than the instrumental passages of "Fascination Street"
I'm glad I got to see "The Cure" this year!
Lovesong continues their tour throughout the upcoming days as well.
Track-by-track reviews of full-length albums and a new video release provide the creative focus for this month of March springtime DCW Feature. Previously covered artists from trusted recording labels have released brand new work that justify attentive listening, followed by deep dive analysis. With the literary details of this review now fully completed, one is encouraged to read along and experience the sights and sounds of these musical artists latest creations.
North Carolina based singer-songwriter Chris Church is no stranger to this websites musical realm. When first introduced by the inimitable label Big Stir Records, the album “Darling Please” garnered a glowing review here. That was followed up a year or so later with a full analysis of the brilliant “Radio Transient.” Now Chris is back with a brand new album “Obsolete Path” which is once again released on the Big Stir label. Exploring the elements of power pop, Americana, hard rock and new wave, a proper listen and analysis of the music created follows below.
You can’t help but set the correct thematic direction by opening your album with it’s title track. Surrounding that proposition with boldly strummed, resonant acoustic guitar chords serve the stated lyrics well. The defiance of concrete and sensible decision making (“refusing to do the math”) is a fork in the road wisdom choice for those who’ve lived enough decades to recognize it. The albums first single release “Sit Down” trades the acoustic for some big time electric guitar work. The drums are loud and forceful and hooky riffs abound all around. Chris adds a processed sheen to his vocals as he ruminates about being “older” and “out of the frame” as a veteran journeyman rocker surveying the current music landscape. The ultimate rebellion in stating “I’m not going anywhere” sits well next to the catchy repeated title line vocal harmony.
Check out this super fun video created by Lori Franklin, featuring Brian Beaver (drums), Lindsay Murray (backing vocals) and some cool mini-instruments!
It’s hard not to think of classic era Fleetwood Mac when listening to what Chris already admits is “perhaps the Lindsey Buckingham-iest song [he’s] ever written” with the reverse-logic romantic “I Don't Wanna Be There.” In fact, with such a prominent, driving bass line, perhaps it’s actually John McVie who deserves some credit as well. The clever lyrical turn is that no matter how enticing a locale, it’s not worth being there without the one you love along as well. Fourth track (and follow-up single) “She Looks Good in Black” is one of those titles that’s so good, you wonder if it came first and the rest of the song then built around it. A slice of almost-country meets Americana, the lyrics make you chuckle. “I had to let go of her hand, She left to see a satanic band, The devil’s got me beat again” is how the opening strains go. Her knowing “exactly what to wear” (along with the obvious black clothing there was “dead flowers in her long dark hair”). Ultimately hoping “she had a real good time” and that at the very least “the evil was sublime” the track itself is a riff and harmony loaded toe-tapper.
There’s a wonderful balance on the lyrically caustic, musically angular alty-rocker (and focus track) “Life On A Trampoline.” The instrumental motion (a churning back and forth) suggests the up and down movements of that bouncing device. However, the lyrics come down hard on those always “saying the same thing,” who’ll “say anything” because “you’re just dying just to be heard” and “live to be seen.” In the end “it’s all the same – no matter what you think you mean – you’re saying the same thing” (over and over). The first co-written track (with his wife Lori Franklin) “Running Right Back to You” emphasizes big electrified power chords, pummel-hard drumming and prominent bass guitar. Sweet harmonies lace the title line chorus, while new-to-this-writer word “limerance” (it means “obsessive infatuation”) provides an opportunity for vocabulary expansion. Bonus points for the heavy metal guitar solo towards the end.
The only non-newly written track comes just-past the albums midpoint with initially penned 20 years ago “Tell Me what You Really Are.” Initially acoustic guitar, singer-songwriter driven, the full band comes in on the second verse and remains throughout. A love song in it’s purest sense, although written from a second meeting years later point of view. Once again, a sinewy electric guitar solo just past the bridge adds musical weight to it all. Old western twang is the order of the day on country-tinged “The Great Divide.” The overall vibe is Glenn Frey fronted Eagles, easy-groove California rock and roll. Even the harmonies roll in like a long lost relative to mega hit “Take It Easy.” A noticeable descending bass guitar line stands out the title explained lyrics “even if it’s the great divide, I’m on your side.”
Another Church/Franklin ("Chanklin?") co-write comes via the first-wave 80’s era computer fascination “I’m a Machine.” The fidgety interplay between bundle-of-nerves guitar chords, bass and drums suggests what a band like The Police did in that time period. This couplet “nothing is too far, nothing is lame, slaying and ghosting, re-earning the shame” sums up the overall lyrical turmoil. The albums third co-write (with celebrated musician Bill Lloyd) “Vice Versa” opens with a gentle mandolin breeze. That quickly morphs into busy prog forms, emphasizing angular guitar figures, tom-heavy drums and counter-melody bass. A song about universal changes summed up with these lyrics “the seasons flow and time is running in a circle (and vice versa).” The gentle mandolin returns for a brief coda, complete with at-that-recording-time incidental studio chatter.
A lumbering noisy guitar and drums stoner-rock progression serves late album (and longest) track “Like A Sucker.” Instrumentally similar to those maniacal live-in-the-studio jams Neil Young & Crazy Horse get up to, the vocal delivery is more contentious. Vowing to be “fooled for the last time,” and not be “just another sucker.” Choosing to close out the album the way it started, the acoustic guitar driven “What Are We Talking About?” is a musically sparse, lyrically focused rumination on – everything. Questions for the universe, delivered with sincerity and perhaps a glimmer of hope for the future.
The album is out via CD and Streaming worldwide on March 28, and can be ordered here at Big Stir Records
Two previous reviews on this site of Chris Church can be found here: “Radio Transient” and “Darling Please.” Which also qualified for each of those particular year's annual DCW Best Of.
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It was less than a year ago when this site did a thorough review the Julian Shah-Tayler (a/k/a The Singularity Music) brilliant recreation/tribute album of David Bowie’s “Diamond Dogs” on it’s 50th Anniversary. The previous year his full-length record of original songs titled “Elysium” was dissected via studious listen and analysis, as well as follow-up single “Fall Apart” six months later. Now Julian is back with a brand new album of all original songs with the curious title “Honne/Tatemae.” Those Japanese words emphasize the duality of life, with the former revealing our true feelings and desires, and the later being what we choose to display in public. A complete track-by-track review of each songs essential offering follows below.
Opening with the album’s brief introductory title track, ambient backward loops rise slowly from the mist as Julian delivers poetic spoken word musings. He states: “In the Isthmus between birth and death, let us illuminate the world with the dance of our brief candle.” That merges into the next (and first full length) track “ForEva,” which initially floats into focus on fluttering wings before stronger percussion, synths and violins provide classical music vibes. Julian’s well-honed Bowie-esque vocals always stand out, while a very active bass guitar powers it all forward. Positive idealism shines through on it’s chorus: “If it takes forever and a day, we’ll watch this world burn away. If it takes forever and a day, you are still my destiny.” Listen here:
A uniquely processed harsh-slap percussion track, prominent bass, metallic-stringed acoustic guitar and an extended note melody serves up third entry “Sufferation.” Vocals are delivered with that romantic croon the aforementioned Mr. B (along with acolytes like Cy Curnin of The Fixx) have done for years. Julian puts his unique touch by adding original ambiance on line endings (“through nowhere,” “life mare,” “foreverywhere,” “this love affair”) and on the dreamy chorus. “We’re lucid in our daydreams, suffocate in moonbeams - our separation . . . dislocated through our sufferation.”
Fourth entry “Malicious Intent” adds buzzing synth behind previously established high production values focused on quick keyboard stabs matched to sharp percussion and violin textures. A scathing warning at a “second rate mediocrity” who “started a war” to “make it stop” before this reciprocal “intent” will be forced to “burn it all down.”
Check out this Darwin Meiners mixed, Kaiber AI video for this song here:
A mechanized robotic undercurrent shares space with sheering guitars on fifth track “Bleed.” Although static in it’s forward progression, there are touches of electric funk (in that way Kraftwerk sometimes does). Especially on the chorus, which goes “Cause I don’t want to see you bleed no no no, don’t want to see you bleed.” A studio recording allows for creating vocal arrangements, which at times finds the singer taking alternating lines, approximating a duet with oneself.
Just past the records midpoint is the tom tom drums driven, slower burn groove “Turn To Stone.” Julian’s vocals are much less Bowie-styled, but instead closer to Simon LeBon in pitch, register and phrasing. In particular when going to falsetto on bridge sections that go “and those colors turn to grey, and these words have nothing to say.” The chorus “In the dead of night on the long way home, you suffocate and turn to stone” approximates the aforementioned SB’s mid-range. A lovely ambient change towards the end features unique keyboard textures, acoustic guitar and original repeated vocalizing on the words “You ARE.”
As previously mentioned, a detailed review of initial single (and this album’s seventh track) “Fall Apart” was presented here on this site at the end of 2023. Read all about (and listen to) this classic 80’s style keyboard-synths driven song of heartbreak right here.
Mysterious vibrations and plucking dulcimer sound usher in eighth entry “Fisk.” Open space allows vocal phrasing to flourish, while classical violins provide necessary emphasis. The chorus dabbles in electro-funk, with poetic lines “of all the fish in the sea, the biggest is me,” and “of all the birds in the sky I swoop and I dive.” Essential repeated line “I’ll turn the pressure on” leads everything out to it’s ultimate conclusion.
Angular synth figures dance in mathematical sequence on the cleverly titled “Buds an the Bes.” As suspected, that title gets fleshed out to it’s universally understood meaning on a chorus that states “Before you get down on your knees - How do the birds and the bees?” The answer to that comes in the form of two more questions, “Do they sing when they sting? Do you still sing?” An unanticipated distorted electric guitar enters the fray, counter-balancing the prior electronic rhythms.
The albums penultimate track comes with the creatively vocalized “This Charming Life.” Rolling out stylized “do do do do do’s” (sounding like otherworldly children), a David Sylvian-esque instrumental groove moves everything forward. Julian frequently moves his voice into a falsetto register, both solo and harmonized with himself. “You know I can light up the sky with fire,” stands out as essential repeated sentiment.
Julian brings in heavyweight Bowie-band instrumentalists Mike Garson and Carmine Rojas, as well as the prolific David J for final (and albums longest) song “Lights Out.” Moody and piano sprinkled, a busy calypso-like percussive and rhythmic undercurrent is just one of numerous unpredictable elements. Garson’s jazzy piano and the overall willingness to expand traditional song structures is reminiscent of Bowie’s own later period work. David J is a master at dropping in a simple, yet so effective standout bassline (like the one that powered “So Alive” via it’s catchy-hook end-out on that hit). Busier bass guitar segments may also be the result of Carmine Rojas’ inclusion. This post-apocalyptic story turns on it’s hook “after all the love is gone, will the last one on this world, please turn the lights out?” Doubling down on this sentiment, Julian concludes with the spoken word narration “we will be erased like a face drawn in sand on the edge of the sea.”
Previous DCW Features on this artist can be found here, here and here.
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A recent notification that one of Sunday Records finest bands The Proctors had put out a new video was certainly motivation to investigate. It was only last August when this site reviewed a number of tracks from their most recent album “Snowdrops and Hot Air Balloons.” Revisiting one of the standout songs from that album, a full video treatment is now given to “You and me and the sea.” A new opportunity to give full attention to both this recording and it’s fresh imagery inspires the words below.
As the band is shown walking around world-famous “Brighton Palace Pier” (an English amusement park with similar historical qualities as Brooklyn’s Coney Island or New Jersey’s Asbury Park) the songs opening strains chime into focus. Female background vocals are the first voices heard, gently singing about how “it’s just a reflection in the water.” Shots of the band playing their guitars are intertwined with footage of the ocean, seagulls and carnival rides. Male lead vocals seek out a “rescue remedy” for “broken hearts.” Poetic seaside lyrics continue as “castles in the sand built by hearts of stone that could not understand” are remedied by an offer to “close your eyes and take my hand.”
Capturing the adventurous joy of a day at the beach and arcades with your friends (or in this case, your band), emotional feelings are also present too. The heart-tugging pre-chorus bridge displays this perfectly with the lines “we listen to that song, it felt like we belonged, something felt so right that day how could it all gone wrong?” When that chorus hits, its title-line simplicity is all that is really needed. However, a second line (and repeat from the intro) “it’s just a reflection in the water” acknowledges how these memorable moments are often fleeting and ephemeral. Just past the mid-point allows for a layered acoustic, electric and bass guitar instrumental segment. Footage of the band in front of the Pier’s many sights (graffiti walled walkways, telephone booths) and attractions (mini-duck games, exotic ceramic cats, the crazy mouse ride, merry-go-rounds) add fun to this guitar, synth and vocal hooky composition.
Check out this wonderful song and video here:
Follow The Proctors via their Social Media on Facebook and Instagram
The final month of 2024 offers an opportunity to highlight the best works presented over the whole year. For this music site, its annual “Best Of” collection celebrates the most significant artists written about since the beginning of this time period. Studio recorded music and video continued to dominate the bulk of analysis, with a significant return to detailed live show coverage included as well. Compiled here in monthly chronological order is the “2024 DaveCromwellWrites Best New Music Reviews and Live Show Coverage.”
Full-length Album Reviews are the DaveCromwellWrites focus this go round, as the Summer has now officially begun. Extensive track-by-track analysis is delivered on new releases from artists whose earlier work have been previously featured here on this site. Glam-fronted punky pop rockers share space with a brilliant recreation/tribute to one of the original glam-rocker’s finest works. Rounding out the feature is a new full album release from creative alternative pop rockers.
It’s been far too long since DCW had the opportunity to review new music from enduring Queens, NY rockers GIFTSHOP. Fortunately that wait is over as the band has just released their latest 9 track album “A Bunch Of Singles.” Comprised of some previously released (and reviewed here) singles, five new entries complete the collection, giving us a broader spectrum of rock to dig into. Additionally, a music video accompanies the song that represents their hometown neighborhood and the people who inhabit it.
An unexpected piano-driven power ballad is the first new (to this site) song “There’s You.” With slow moving open arpeggio piano chords and rim-clack percussion, Meghan Taylor’s intimate vocals express a longing nature in lyrics shared. “Oh, so lonely - and oh, it shows - and though I'm broken -you know, no one knows.” Out of this sadness, an uplifting moment arrives with the beautifully harmonized, simple four word chorus “and then, there’s you.” Distinctive guitar figures are placed at just the right moments here, adding necessary accents. The second verse has the piano dropping out, leaving a low bass hum as an even more personal sonic field for Meghan’s heartfelt delivery. Fuller drums kick in behind the subsequent chorus, which adds a pivotal change “and then, it’s true.”
A re-visitation of early era favorite “Spooky Halloween Christmas” adds a “Too” now, while injecting Ska/Rockabilly horns into this macabre delight. Meghan’s vocals are less Debbie Harry (as on the original) and more her own, with fuller emphatic delivery. The walking bassline is still dominant, while appropriate sleigh-bells accompany monster-mash “ghoulish ride” aside voices. The accents are crisp and tight with the head-bopping, catchy chorus “It's Hallows' Eve with Christmas Trees!
Skulls are hanging from the evergreens.”
Built on a deep, chugging, stoner-rock groove, “The Breakthrough” contemplates on the things you’ve needed to do in becoming the person you now are. Giftshop never wastes anyone’s time in getting to the hook, however and it’s a singalong beauty with the lyrics “nothing can stop us now – Are you with me?” Lyrical insight and introspection point out how “glittering gold” is “too good to be true,” and “the journey of lies turned into the truth.” A mid-point breakdown shifts the rhythm while providing a bit of uplift and hope after all the “compromises.” Delivered in call-and-response fashion, “you make a living by when you get” is followed by “you make a life by what you give.” The addition of a rising slide-guitar here provides musical gravity to this ultimate realization “breakthrough.” Repeated vocal “wow” at the end drive home this necessary point.
Arriving with a cameo-filled video of local friends and followers, the already live show favorite sing-along “Astoria” delivers on it’s promise. Opening the footage with quick shots of their favorite hometown places, the bass guitar driven intro meets buzzing-bee axe for the musical throwdown. With copious amounts of live show footage from local favorite bar “Dominie’s” 2023 annual celebration event, the camera follows glamorous lead vocalist Meghan into the venue. The essential riff is sharp and precise, with drums and guitar accenting the changes. Long time fans are visible in front of the band as much of the footage is shot from behind. Quick cuts of the band members are of course necessary and included, as views from both inside and out of the space dance across the screen. Lyrically the song is as instantly classic as “New York, New York” or “I Love LA.” This time, however it is a love tome to a prominent NYC borough. “Drop me off at the Broadway stop
NO! Not in Manhattan - This is my happy place - Join the Queens bandwagon.” The brilliant simplicity of the songs single title word chorus is all you need for fist pumping fans to leap on that bandwagon in that joyous moment of camaraderie.
Check out this wonderful video here:
The band also includes a cover of the groundbreaking classic 90’s Radiohead song “Creep.” While the band charges through it’s progression with thunderous glee, Meghan let’s loose with a powerful voice that hits every note. And who hasn’t at some point in their lives related to the lyrics “what the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here." Tacked on the end is a 41 second punk rock short that joyously concludes with the chanted lines “loaded diaper.”
Julian Shah-Tayler is one of those multi-disciplinary musicians who appear to be always busy. In addition to writing, recording and touring his own music as The Singularity, he still finds the time to play live shows as a key member of very popular Depeche Mode tribute band Strangelove. Not content with all of that, he also does an impressive David Bowie show, encompassing the thin white duke’s beloved catalog. In that regard he has released a “50th Anniversary of Diamond Dogs full cover album.” DCW digs down now into this ambitious project, listening for a new interpretation of a treasured classic.
Putting his immediate unique personal stamp on opening track “Future Legend,” bold synthesizers provide an ominous background for the spoken word apocalyptic vision. Julian’s proper English accent and voice is deeper than Bowie’s reedier tone, and today’s modern production qualities add a richness that the DB self-produced original couldn’t accomplish in 1974. The lyrics still strike hard as when first heard by this writer back then: “Fleas the size of rats sucked on rats the size of cats
And ten thousand peoploids split into small tribes.” A dystopian world is all that’s left, and will end “any day now."
One more spoken word phrase sets up the title track, as Julian delivers the pivotal line “This ain't Rock'n'Roll - This is – Genocide!” Having performed, produced, mixed and mastered everything by himself, Julian stays true to the originals chunky guitar riffing and cowbell percussion. Lifting his voice back up into more familiar Bowie register (the steady #bowietribute shows he does surely solidifies and hones this skill) the initially (and still) amusing lyrics “As they pulled you out of the oxygen tent - You asked for the latest party.” The younger, more reckless version of myself could almost relate to this. The next line “with your silicone hump and your ten inch stump,” however was far more of a head-scratcher. Other catch phrases like “mannequins with kill appeal” always stuck and are delivered here by Julian with aplomb. The chugging Rolling Stone-like chorus turns the mood a bit more rock and roll party, singing “come out of the garden, baby - you'll catch your death in the fog.
Young girl, they call them the Diamond Dogs.” Julian adds new touches to certain lines, like the “Halloween Jack” verse where sonic echoes enhance the lyrics “so he slides down a rope.” Special mention to the bass playing here, which playfully adds wonderful counter rhythms.
Julian drops his voice down into a lower register for the introductory sequence on the piano-driven 8 minute opus “Sweet Thing.” That quickly shifts to the more Bowie-esque tenor on the line “and isn't it me, putting pain in a stranger?” before going full also on "Boys, Boys, its a sweet thing.” This vocal flex shows Julian’s ability to reinterpret the original croon while simultaneously putting his own stamp on it. Thematically depicting sex-for-sale as transactional commodity, it gets woven into “hope” being a “cheap thing.” Wonderful buzzy guitar lines ride over top of the primary piano chords, leading into the “Candidate” midsection. Notable high harmonies grace the lines “some make you sing and some make you scream - one makes you wish that you'd never been seen” while making pop culture references to Charlie Manson and Cassius Clay. Rattle tambourine quickens the pace behind desperation lines “Anyone out there? Any time?" and “When it's good, it's really good, and when it's bad I go to pieces." The resigned nihilistic partners agree to “buy some drugs and watch a band - then jump in the river holding hands.” Julian masterfully handles the “Reprise” section, going full falsetto on final powerful lines “then let it be, it's all I ever wanted. It's a street with a deal, and a taste. It's got claws, it's got me, it's got youuuuu.”
Not content to simply re-hash Bowie's most covered track, Julian turns the signature opening riff of "Rebel Rebel" on it’s head with a bass and drums intro, followed by keyboards in place of that recognizable hook. It’s as if Alan Wilder-era Depeche Mode is responsible for this delightful 80-90’s (decades after the original) recreation. Not to sit on one musical statement too long, buzzy guitar does make it’s appearance in that riff spot on the second pass through. The pure joy of these rock and roll lyrics still remain with us all, so many years later. “You like me, and I like it all - We like dancing and we look divine - You love bands when they're playing hard - You want more and you want it fast.” Additional musical interludes like the extended “bongo” production on the “Don’t ya?” segment is curiously inventive.
Julian returns to his dead-on Bowie croon for the Geoff MacCormack co-written power ballad “Rock and Roll With Me.” Noteworthy as being Bowie's first co-writing credit on one of his own albums, the song made the album having been salvaged from a planned but never-completed “Ziggy Stardust musical.” Julian gives it a proper rock and roll treatment, building it around guitars, bass and drums. Memorable lyrics from those formative and impressionable days like “lizards lay crying in the heat” and “I would take a foxy kind of stand - While tens of thousands found me in demand” are still a delight from this 50 years after perspective.
Electric piano serves as the primary musical force behind the William Burroughs/George Orwell inspired “We Are The Dead.” Believed to have been lyrically constructed via Burroughs's famous "cut-up" technique, Julian puts his all in the vocals during big production sections. Still enamored by the line “but I love you in your fuck-me pumps” (stylish teenage lust is hard to shake, even at this advanced age) it’s still a grim resolution “Because of all we've seen, because of all we've said -
We are the dead.”
There’s a subtle trap-hop element to the percussion on Julian’s adaptation of the Orwell inspired “1984.” While acoustic tone guitars initially move around the edges, an unexpected fiddle-sound saws away through center. Funk-guitar is introduced on the second verse as the narrator once again ultimately warns “Beware the savage jaw – of 1984.” Chunkier power chords move in to augment the “come see, come see, remember me?” change section. Things move deeper into a soul direction for the third “I’m looking for a vehicle” section, especially via bass guitar propulsion and funk strummed chords.
The final entry “Big Brother/Chant of The Ever Circling Skeletal Family” finds Julian keeping true-to-the-original reading of the initial rock portion. Tandem bass and drum propulsion with slithering buzz guitar notes around those memorable lyrics. Referencing “dust and roses,” the fey aside “or should we powder our noses?” ultimately give way to “give me steel, give me steel, give me pulses unreal.” The hook always delivers “Someone to claim us, someone to follow - Someone to shame us, some brave Apollo - Someone to fool us, someone like you - We want you Big Brother.” The songs original concept was meant for an adaptation of Orwell’s totalitarian future society 1984. When that project could not be made, at least we got this song here. Julian captures those delightful mid-track melody lines via unique synth tones. Similarly, the reinterpretation of the final chant (which is meant to echo Winston’s “two minutes of hate” depicted in Orwell’s book) benefits from modern production qualities here, and brings the album to it’s conclusion.
Check out this amazing album in full here:
Connect with Julian Shah-Tayler/The Singularity via his Social Media: Facebook - Instagram
Previous Features on Julian and his music can be found on this site here and here.
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Last summer DCW reviewed the first single and opening track “Superflower” from The Crushing Violets forthcoming full length album “Filaments of Creation.” That album is now here in it’s entirely, and naturally curiosity has been peaked about what the other tracks sound like. With Antanina (vocals) and BP Brooks (guitars, vocals) writing all the songs, Mick Hargreaves mixed, engineered, played some additional instruments and co-produced with the band. It was recorded at Lantern Sound Recording Rig, in Manorville, NY.
Taking a sequential approach through the album, first new (to this site) track “Hollywood” emerges out of a rat-a-tat drum intro. The progression moves forward at a power ballad pacing and vocals come in tandem, with BP’s male tones out front. Those vocals are further enhanced by guitar lines echoing it’s melody. Not really about California’s movie making capital, the title word’s singular reference comes in the lyrical sequence “now the house is gray - here's a ghost inside these walls today - Hollywood seems so far away.” The following cut “It’s 2am” is an acoustic guitar (only) powered folk song ruminating on introspective thoughts had in those early morning hours. Where “your ghosts will haunt you,” “can’t find what you lost,” and “can’t hide from who you are.” Even though “you got lost among the stars” it’s important to “remember who you are,” and that you belong there.
A chugging Rolling Stones style guitar progression followed by solid drums and bass kick off “Then You Shine.” It’s laid back “Exile On Main Street” vibe echoes that watershed album’s soulful voices with Antanina’s contributions on each verse title line resolution. While BP’s vocals (and all the backing vocal production overall) deliver the poetic lyrics clearly, his guitar solo near the 2 minute mark really sings. Bigger rock production and well placed minor/seventh chords in the songs progression enhance the Antanina voiced “When We Dream.” It all comes together gloriously on the lyrical hook “We’re going where the summer’s waiting - I’m dreaming of enchanted places - We’ll be” and the powerful guitar-bass-drums instrumental section that follows. A return to introspection runs through the acoustic guitar only, predominant BP vocal on “Anyway.” Antanina adds tender harmonies to lyrical content that emphasizes “darkest dream,” “the end of time” and how ultimately “the world is a stage.”
A curious backward motion guitar effect introduces the full bass and drums accompanied, BP lead voiced “Lost in Space.” Reaching the catchy chorus hook in under a minutes, both voices harmonize on the lovely sentiment “if you just hold my hand, we could walk in the sand - Lost in Space.” A wonderfully tasty Dickey Betts style guitar solo graces the song’s midpoint, adding musical sensitivity, sweetness and light. A surprising tempo change commences at the two and a half minute mark, lifting the overall progression to a higher level. Album closer “Back to Neptune” has Antanina weaving a tale of “two lover churning deep beneath the waves” on that giant blue planet. An interesting mix of mellotron-style flutes serve up an instrumental interlude between vivid imagery of “flashing cosmic rays” with “200 billion stars to light the way.”
Dave Cromwell has been writing about music since the dawn of the internet age. In addition to the steady flow of features here on this site, he has been a regular contributor to The Deli Magazine (both Print and Web) since 2010. With numerous Print Issue cover features and weekly contributions on the Deli website, scores of artists have received the Cromwell point of view. Along with ongoing contributions to this site and The Deli Magazine, Dave has written for Dingus, My Social List, The Waster, Spin and Rolling Stone magazines.
